The Villanova Wildcats have vanquished all challengers thus far in 2016. The defending national champions have only been tested once, in a road tilt at Purdue in mid-November, and have shown that the belief that a jump shooting team can’t win a title is laughable. Villanova will square off against another undefeated team, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, this Saturday in the inaugural Never Forget Tribute Classic. The event will provide education assistance to financially needy dependents of people killed or disabled in the 9/11 attacks.
At 12 p.m. ET, turn the dial to CBS for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, December 10, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Villanova has been favored in every game thus far this season and is 9-0 SU and 5-4 ATS on the season. The last three games that the Wildcats have played have gone over the total thanks to their phenomenal shooting.
Notre Dame is 9-0 SU coming into this game and 4-0 ATS this season. The Irish have feasted on a lot of weak opponents thus far and have won every game in which there was no line by at least 25 points. They do have solid non-conference wins over Colorado and Northwestern, but are largely untested heading into this match-up.
Key Stat
Only Duke is considered more efficient on offense than Villanova according to Ken Pomeroy’s numbers. Villanova doesn’t pour in a ton of points, but works to find a good shot on every possession and more often than not will get points in the opponent’s end.
The Wildcats are knocking down 50 percent of their field goals and over 40 percent of their three-point attempts, outstanding numbers for a team that doesn’t get the ball into the paint a lot. Instead, the Wildcats rely on perimeter shooters like Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson to score and they have been very productive in that capacity.
Notre Dame is going to have a very difficult time with Villanova’s guards. Don’t let the 63.7 PPG allowed average fool you, the perimeter defense isn’t that good. The Irish have been only lightly tested defensively and had trouble stopping both Iowa and Colorado on offense.
Player to Watch
If the Irish are going to have any chance to knock off the No. 1 team in the country, Bonzie Colson is going to need to have an outstanding performance. Colson is a fantastic rebounder for someone that is only 6’5, pulling down over 11 boards a game for Notre Dame and overpowers foes in the paint regularly. He has had six straight double-doubles and will look for another one on Saturday.
Colson is also a very effective shooter. Colson has knocked down over 50 percent of his shots this season and showed that he can knock down the three when needed to in his last game. He went 3 for 5 from behind the arc against Fort Wayne and is hitting 42 percent of his threes this season.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Even though Villanova has a solid defense, expect a high total when you check the odds at BookMaker.eu. Notre Dame can score some points on Nova’s defense and Nova is going to put up points on any team in the country not named Virginia.
If you’re looking to play a side, expect a spread somewhere in the 6 to 9 range. Assuming that’s the case, it’s hard to go against Villanova. The Wildcats are just too talented at the perimeter and Notre Dame is going to have a hard time keeping up. As long as Villanova doesn’t lose the rebounding battle by a big margin, the Wildcats will get a double-digit victory.
College Basketball Odds: Villanova 83, Notre Dame 73
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